..Where to begin, and where to end..

after close to 25 hours of waiting, travelling, waiting so more and then traveling some more I finally eye my end stop - Vienna airport, as I take my bag, and move through the checkout, I am met by the driver that is helping me with my luggage when we come to the car, it is freezing for me, I am seriously cold, and not only because I didn't sleep for 25 hours but because it is -2 degrees outside. As I get into the car, and we sneak out from the airport - it hits me the first time that I am back in Europe, it is dark and cold outside, and as we go slowly accelerate on the highway it hits me, there are almost no cars on the highway, there is no sound, and it is so quiet, so silent, so boring.. After a 45 min drive I am finally at home, the key slides into the lock, I hear the familiar click when I unlock the door and I step into my empty apartment, everything is as I left it 4 weeks ago, I cant help but think to myself that it is with a bitter sweet symphony I am at home, I miss my friends in India, I miss my colleagues that I was use to meeting everyday in Chennai, I miss the sounds, the smell, the atmosphere, I pretty much miss everything, this 4 week assignment has impacted me more than I ever dreamt of ..

As I unpack my bag the smell of India is still hanging in my cloth, and it makes me think back to what I went through in India, the memories, the fun, the tears, the experiences, looking back it hits me even harder how much I miss India, one chapter of my life is over and a new one will start, and with this in the back of my mind I slide into a heavy sleep, were I am reconnected with my friends and colleagues from India.

I spend almost 3 month preparing for a 4 week assignment in India, and I feel that it all just started last night - I feel like it was last night that my friend (that I will be grateful to forever for this) told me that I should apply for this assignment, I feel like it was last night that I was sitting at home receiving the e-mail, telling me that I would spend 4 weeks in Chennai, I feel like it was last night that I found out that I would be working for a NGO supporting street children and promoting child rights, like last night that I met Susanna and the rest of the CSC team, like it was last night that we had our first call with our client.. but it is now 4 months later, and a lot of new of memories later, it is a different martin that is back in Bratislava, it is a martin that has lived through ups and downs, seen different things, tried different things, it is a martin that went through a changing process, a maturing process, where he learned about himself - I can truly say that I have learn new dimensions about myself, I have changed in my leadership style, I have improved in many aspects, I have become more flexible, adaptable and adjustable to pretty much whatever is thrown at me, I feel I can work and lead in any environment, I feel I have learn how to truly connect with people that I though I would never be able to connect with, I feel I have become a bit more humble, I have become a bit less egoistic, and much more patient  .. and it is all thanks to these last 4 months

so before thinking about how much I have changed and what I have changed into, I seriously need to get use to the weather, when I was leaving Chennai it was 32 degrees and outside is a nice fresh -3 degrees welcoming me, this and also the almost 5 hours time difference, it is hitting me harder than I thought, all in all I think I underestimated a lot of things before going to India - next time when I return there I will make sure I don’t, and I will return to India, I mean it is a fantastic country, there is a ton of things to see and do, and as the country is so incredible hug it will take me a least a couple of trips back before I see what I would like to see, I guess I will have my travel plans made out for myself for the next couple of years, and one last thing about India, before I left to India I couldn’t imagine living and working there, now back in Bratislava I can easily imagine living and working in India - funny how life turns out ..

so to all of my colleagues that might read this, if you ever get a chance to go on our CSC assignment, don’t wait one single sec to apply it is a wonderful, amazing and fantastic experience - and I am forever going to be thankful for having had this chance, to meet, to learn, to see, to smell, to experience, to change, to develop and to grow .. - It is a life changing experience ..

Personally, I have never in my wildest imagination thought going to India would have had such a profound impact on my life, I have never thought that my life would be turn so incredible upside down as it has been, I never dared to hope for such a wonderful life-changing experience, and now that I have had it - the question is what is next for me ? that my friends is a question that I can not answer right now, however what I do know is that I will always have India inside of me, it is burned deep within me ..

..it all started with a Thali and it finishes here as well..

so remember when i wrote a post about my first thali - it was in a place called "woodlands" not that far from where we live, well the team, or the left overs from the team decided to go there for dinner, after we had a small hugging session on the 2nd floor, we got some small presents from the hotel staff and in return they got some tips for their work during the past 4 weeks, it was a nice couple of hours, although i caught myself several times in going from high laughter to being quiet for a while - thinking to myself "its all over now, the end is near .." and a long flight and day is in front of me tomorrow morning, oh well no time to be sad about it now - i can do that when i am home alone right, so i refind my good mood, and we walk of to woodlands...

(Kristian and Susanna discussing the outcome of the program .. note her Saree .. ) 

at woodlands we spend most parts of our time to talk about our lessons learned, what we have changed or improved on, what we have developed, and the conversation is really great..we are talking and discussing whether or not it was long enough, or to long time spend in india, and in general we all share our opinions and feedback from the 4 weeks - the passed by in a blink of an eye ... and once again i blink and i find myself standing outside the hotel saying my goodbyes to Kristian, and after that we spend another 2 hours talking on the 2nd floor, before i at around midnight say my last goodbyes and then i am off to a night that is going to be short - and eventually bring me nothing but twisting and turning... tomorrow is going to be a long day ...



"...the end of our trip is near, the time is up, we say our goodbye to each other, to what have become friends and family, and to a fantastic country and city that has left its marks on our souls forever and ever, memories that i hope will never be forgotten, faces that will stay with me till i am old and grey..." 


Martin Nielsen, November 11th - 2011 

..what do you reply to this?...

so the party is over, we are signing the last papers, postcards, having some more picture taken, and have a final sitting with Virgil, on my way out, i get "pulled" aside by one of the ladies that we work with, she looks all teary, she sits me down at the couch, grabs my hand, and starts to tell me how her last 9 days has been for her, this is what she tells me:


... for many years i have had problems with managing my family, my two sons, and my daughter. i want to work, and believe i can work, i want my family to be proud of me, and show me the respect that i deserve, but for many years i havent been able to achieve that, what is worse is that me working has taken a torn on my relationship with my husband and children, they dont feel i am there to support them and in the same way i dont feel they support me, and with that we fight a lot, and it is not pleasant for me to be at home... now over the last 9 days you have given me the tools to get more organized, more planned, to focus on what i really want to do, and understand what i have to do, you have taught me how to prioritize in my everyday, and how i can free up more time, get more done with less, and you have also shown me how important it is to talk about why i decide what i decide, you have given me the tools to give and ask for feedback from anybody - and with this i practise every day, at work and more important at home, and my family sees a different, and i feel there is a difference happening - i explain and express why i want to do what i want to do, i share with my family how my day looks like, and i ask for their help and support .. and they now are starting to understand me better and accept what it is that i want to do, that it is not only for me, but it for them, it is for all of them, so they will be proud of me, their mother and wife..So Martin you have changed my life - and have changed my family to the better, you have supported me without knowing it .. and in 9 days you have done something for me, that i havent been able to do for myself in many years.... Thank you ... 

in general i am not very good with compliments - but this here is simply to much for me, for the second time in Chennai i dont know what to say .. i am speechless, i have never-ever heard anything this powerful .. and the only thing i can find as a reply is "thank you and it was my pleasure" .. anything else would i guess have ruined one of the most heartbreaking stories i have ever heard...

...and now to something completely different..

what do you need to cheer up a woman from Sweden and a guy from Denmark, answer, - 7 people from India, a sari and a kurta .. so after lunch around 14.30 Susanna is all of a sudden rushed of to one of the rooms on the floor we are doing trainings at (we both kinda had the suspicion that something was coming..) and for 30 min almost she wasnt allowed out, more and more of the women we showing up for the goodbye party that was being hosted for us today, i am sitting waiting, chatting with some of them, as i move to go to the toilet (well you saw the picture, not really a toilet more like a hole in the ground) Peeti comes up to me, he seems very tense, and as i finish my visit he tells me to join him on one floor up, on the stairs, where he literally tells me to undress (this could be misinterpreted ..- i somehow choose not to ..) and he hands me a brand new kurta, white trousers, and something looking like golden overpart .. it is soo nice, and of course i slip into it...

as i enter the training room i kinda guess what i will see, the ladies have dress Susanna from top till toe in the traditional Saree, gold earrings, necklace, bracelets, even the bracelets for her ankles, hair is done, make up.. the whole real deal .. - and she looks fantastic, it seems like we are become all accepted into their lives now as we are dressed up, i guess this was what was missing for the final acceptance - here it is, and they are loving it .. and i have to admit, so are we.

Needless to say the amount of pictures being taken is rather high and to be honest - this time around i dont mind, and i eventually end up striking a pose .. .(well not really - just wanted to write that..) after the first initial photo shot is over, Priana starts to welcome the different people to take the stage to say a couple of words about us, our work here, their weeks of experience, and it becomes once again a bit emotional - i even catch Virgil being a bit wet-eyed - and seeing her like this, all emotional and sensitive i very fast feel something in the corner of my eyes .. as i try to hold it back, i see several of our team members having the exact same problem as me .. i am happy i am not alone with me feelings and emotions..

Time is certainly running fast when you are having fun, and on this last goodbye party time is all of a sudden up and it is almost time to say goodbye for the very last time (or as i like to put it .. - see you later..goodbye seems so much like never again ..) we are given one final present.. and with that it is time to take one last bow .. - and so we bow our humble heads to a set of people that for sure deserve all the respect i can ever find ..

.. one last song ..

so we hit the office at 10 ready to deliver our final presentation here in Chennai, some 4 weeks ago we stood almost at the same spot talking about what we were going to do, and now we done, it is all at the final stage. We still however have one last exercise and that is to share with the management team, our findings, our work, our conclusions and our recommendations .. - and i am the type of person that if i have to go, i will go with a bang, and seemingly so is Susanna (my eternal partner in crime..) so we have a power pact and up-beat presentation for 3 hours, which i think now reflecting over it, went really well.. Virgil the director is joining in today and it seems that we are hitting a couple of points that she has seen and have been trying to resolve for some time now, it does indeed seem that great minds think a like ..

(One last and final presentation in Chennai...)

As the presentation draws to a closure, we take our last chances to thank all of them for their help and support, their leadership, their patience with us, their energy, excitement - and for my part, their motivation and inspiration.. and as i boldly put it - they themselves has become stronger leaders, and should they ever want to see what a great person and strong leader looks like - simply look in the mirror .. and with the sentence i get a couple of nods of appreciation from the team ... - no need you all deserved it ... without spending to much more words on this kinda depressing conclusion of the 4 weeks - you all made a difference to me and my life, i think we have delivered something to be proud of, i believe we have made a difference, i believe we have shared a passion to do good in the world, i think we have shown leadership - and i think we have found leadership, but more important for myself, i think i am a little step closer to making sense out of my life.. and a little step closer to being a more complete leader..

...Back to the fields of life ..

so i am finally back, back where it all started - in the slums of Chennai, and funny enough i have missed it, the sounds, the colours, the feeling, the atmosphere, simply the slum, its hard to describe but it is special - and we have made many friends here, this time around we get on the train, which is some experience - no doors in the train imagine that .. - we get off, and for a while i am lost to where we are going, we get on a rickshaw drive for 10 min and then i am home, i wrote about this place in one of my previous posts, we are welcomed by smiling women, children coming up to us, and Mike is fast to break out the camera, and with that the group of children grows fast very easily - they all want to be on a picture and as well see the pictures..

(arent they the cutest kids ever ... )

we meet some of the self-help women here, some of the local domestic workers, we meet one that we have never met before, and we start to talk to her, it is very nice to hear her experience, but we are brutally interrupted when her husband comes out to see what is all this commotion, and tells us very rudely off .. then that conversation is over.

(the charm of the slum is something i will never forget .. - isnt this just wonderful ..)

We move back to one of the sheds where we are welcomed inside but one of the community leaders, that has prepared caj, and a "small" snack of us, needless to say it is a whole meal! I ask her for her opinion on what i saw and observed with this women's husband coming and stopping our conversation, she looks at me (she knows me already so she is not surprised that i raise it to her awareness..), asks silvi who the lady was, and where she lives, and tells me that she will pay her husband a visit (and this i can tell you will be a visit, where she most likely will explain the husband the husband a couple of truth about his behaviour) she asks me if there is something specific i would like her to say to the husband, and i answer, if she believes that the husband will be able to change ? why he is acting like this ? her answer is "he is having complexes..", its goes a bit deeper than that, she starts to talk about his insecurity, his lack of respect towards his wife, and the lack of self-confidence, self-appreciation, how the men here are not interested in working, doing anything but be at home, drink and watch tv, to have an easy life.. - it is a sad story - but here in the slums it is daily business, there is a lot of self-destruction, a lot of lack of personal pride, sense of responsibility .. how can a man call himself a man if he doenst take a responsibility over his well-being of his family, how can one call himself a man, and not being interested in the financial sustainability of the family, how can you call yourself a man, if the only thing you have on your mind is drink, watch tv and ensure your wife doesnt talk to anybody .. in my opinion you cant call yourself a man!

(helping out with the domestic work, guess where her dad is .. )

we talk further and go for a walk around the slum, and i notice that all the men are staring at me, and not in a very pleasant way - i ask silvi why that is, and the answer just re-emphasizes what i heard earlier, and i am surprised and not in a good way .. they look at me as a threat, because they see me as an intelligent person, that their wives would cheat on them with .. - me, a simple guy from Denmark is seen as a threat to their "territory", me.. here i have to admit that i cant find the right words to decripe what i feel now for these men, i guess i feel sorry for them, i feel sorry for the fact that they have so low self-esteem, so low self-worth, so low believe in themselves.. but more over - i feel terrible over how little trust and respect they have in their wives .. how little they believe that their wives will stay with them, i guess you ride the same way you saddle - and here they are digging a deep hole for themselves - funny that they themselves just cant see it .. - and more ironic is that they dont do something to change this..

(as it will be full moon tonight the temple is being cleaned and prepared for prayers...)

i am not judging anybody (or at least i try not to judge people..) but if your mission in life is to watch tv and drink the money your wife is making, what motivation does she have to do anything for you .. - and at the same time you are the one not respecting her, that is just so wrong .. i mean who should respect who here? i want to understand, i really do, and Ralph offers somewhat of an explanation to what he saw, the reality of these men is being so hardly pushed on them that this eventually becomes their only reality, a reality that it is okay to live a life like this, a life where the man is dominant, respectless, arrogant, aggressive, abusive, drunken, and in the end useless in upholding the household.. what a rolemodel he is for his children - and this is when the evil circle of bad influence begins, Ralphs explanation makes sense, but i refuse to accept it, i will have to however, but it doesnt

this here is a very powerful lesson to learn, good or bad we are all rolemodels - we ourselves choose what kind of rolemodel we want to become - good or bad, the choice is yours..  i just hope you will as well as i, will make the right choice .. and with these words my day is slowly lagging to an end .. what a day - once again Chennai offer me a full rolercoaster of emotions.. i am just happy that i got to share it with my colleagues .. - thanks team ..

...Entering Hogwarts ..

The dining hall most of all reminds me of a scene from Harry Potter where they are having their breakfast, it is huge, and needless to say it is packed with guests having their Biryani..we enter, and once again we have been highly expected, i believe it is the manager of the restaurant that comes to greet us, and he has the right table for us, he fast moves some of the people sitting there away - to make place for us, and where do we get to sit ? would you get surprised if i tell you that we get seated right where everybody can see us, were everybody can pass by and get a glimpse of us, a glimpse of the foreigners, the special ones...so here i have to tell you one thing, although i feel privileged with all this attention, i seriously have the feeling like i am an animal in the zoo, getting fed, and having visitors come and see me, see how unique i am, and that makes me enjoy a wonderful lunch a bit less, but i guess if it makes them have a nicer day - then i, with the support of my colleagues will sacrifice our self today ..

(..and here is Hogwarts for you..)

So the show is almost over, lunch is great, bellies are full, hands are washed and it is time for us to hit the road and get of to the slums, and as we are slowly trying to escape without anybody noticing us, it seems like everybody notice it, and a last set of hands are being shaken, another dozen photos are being taken with us, blessing from family and friends are raining down over me, and the amount of "thank you for coming" is countless, and i feel that i am the one that have to thank all of them, that i am the one that feel lucky to have been invited to see and experience this here, it was magic..

(..arent they just looking amazing all dressed up .. they were the real stars of the day .. )

sitting in the rickshaw we talk about what we saw and what we felt, and here are my feelings, weddings here in India is often not only about the bride and groom, but also for the parents to show of, in terms of how important they are, or how rich they are, influential and powerful, imagine this, you might not have all the money in the world to show other people in Chennai that you are rich, you might not have your own multinational company to show how powerful you are, you might not be an influential politician, or a big film star, you might just be a good parent that want to have the wedding of your child to be a bit extra, and this is where we come into the picture, from their perspective did we make the wedding an event people will be talking about ? will people talk about who were those foreigners ? will they have some good memories to talk to their friends about while showing their photos with us ? sure they will - after all, how often does a typical family in Chennai have a guy from Holland, another one from the US, a woman from Sweden and a charmer (you can hear that i got a bit of an ego boost today hehe) like myself from Denmark, come to their wedding - not very often i can tell you that..

(already missing his wife.. )

so all in all, feeling a bit like a tiger in a cave, in order to have their families be the talking point for the next couple of weeks in this part of Chennai is a price i gladly pay .. if my company, appearance, and being can spread excitement - then i am more than happy to be here.. - thanks for the invitation - thanks for the opportunity to spread some smiles and laughter's, thanks for this magic moment, thanks for being part of this .. and thanks for allowing me to make your day just a bit more special ... - i wish you both all the best in your new future together ...

.. a bit different wedding ...

..isn't life just wonderful, full of surprises and events that you have never thought would happen to you, well today was yet again one of those days.. on Tuesday Susanna and i, got invited to go and see a wedding, actually a Muslim wedding, and of course we happily accepted it. So a long standing interest from Mike and Ralph has been to come and join us in the slum area - so what better opportunity could come then take them with us to this wedding - and so we did. So the four of us head of to a shop this morning after breakfast to buy flowers and then off to the office where we are to meet Silvi (one of our trainers, that has been on our trainings..). We arrive to the office, meet and greet and then off to the wedding..- and in the rickshaws we go, to take us into the slum to see a beautiful wedding ..

(you are officially invited to the wedding of Nisha and Saliba..)

you know you have been expected when there are family of the bride and groom waiting for you outside the site, and you have never met any of them before - so once again we are back into the superstar role, as we pull up in front of the site, we are welcomed by family and friends, escorted to the first floor, where the ceremony is to take place, we meet the groom on the way - he is looking all excited to see us (okay i might need to explain this, we got invited by his brother, so we dont even know the groom..) although we have never met him before, you can see that he is very happy we came, and when we break out our cameras he looks even more please (i have to admit that he looks very smart..) his father comes to meet us, we are fast introduced to his mother, that is take my hand thanking me for coming to her son wedding, for finding the time to come and be part of the celebration, and we are shown to our seats - and, we get the first row seats - not even family is sitting here ..- so we are seated and it takes us some 5 sec. before we have all the attention, and i am starting to get confused, did the people come to see us, or the wedding..

(Susanna was one of the main attractions with these girls ..)

i look at mike and Ralph that seem to be accepting the fact that today they are the superstars of the wedding, (i guess now they understand what i meant in my previous blog when i mentioned being centre of attention..), mike takes a lot of great photos, and the more he takes, the more children are coming up to be part of the photo-shot, and they are not letting him go without having had their pictures taken by him..and when he is done with the picture taking, it is now his turn to have his picture taken, the photographer is not in the centre.. After pictures and handshakes in high volumes we are finally having a bit of breathing-space and i am being told that the Muslim priest is late already 40 min. and still more and more people are entering the room, i think that by now we are somewhere around 2-300 people..

(..this is only one little part of the whole hall - it was packed with people..)

The priest enters, takes the stage (nonchalant after being late 50 min.), sits down, signs some papers, talk some words with the fathers of the bride and groom - collects some money, and then it all starts, he starts to sing out some prayers, speak some words, then some more prayers, some more words, and after 20 min it is over... kinda an anticlimax if you ask me..

(the guy with the white little hat is the priest that married the couple..)

The official part of the ceremony is over and it only took some 20 min, and then it becomes interesting, till now i still didnt see the bride, but now she is rushed to the stage to take a stand next to her new husband, and pictures are being taken, hugs are being given, gifts are being handed over, when you hand over your gift you get a photo with them ..

(..and here is the new happy couple .. what a dress-up .. ) 

As mentioned already, Susanna and i bought some flowers, and as Susanna hands over the flowers to the wife, we are all being asked to come to the stage, to a full photo shot with the bride and groom, we are being told to look in this direction, then that direction, we are almost hired models on work, we are the stand-ins that you can hire to make your wedding more interesting .. i am once again thinking about the fact that instead of showing the new wedded couple some interest, 4 foreigners are getting all the attention, and it makes me feel a bit strange...

(final hugs are being shared before it is lunch time..)

...The Press conference ..

the briefing is on its way and we start our first set of interviews, introducing ourselves, what we do, where we are from, how we like India all the usual stuff, it doesnt really get interesting till some 20 min into the interview, where the questions starts to be about what we have learned, what the NGO has learned, what we take out of this assignment, how we will carry this back with us, how we have changed, how we would have prepared differently - there is a lot of good questions, and equally good answers, the first interview really is only the warm of to what soon is to become for yours truly a test of patience ..

so here is what happens.. already when she enters the reporter, you sense her arrogance, her sense of pride of being a reporter, and how superior she is to the rest of her fellow country men and women,  and my God she is not holding back, within 2 min she is having a go at our local media representative, challenging why our company is doing what we are doing, why, how, what, and in the end pretty much ends up making it sound like we are wasting everybody time (needless to say i am getting a slight bit upset here.. - ignorance and arrogance as i always say is a dangerous combination - but even worse, it is a very bad combination..)

however friends it gets worse, at one time Prija from the organization i have been working with comes with a comment about how she has benefited from this assignment and the reporter literally says the following "well to be honest your NGO and the project done there wasnt to important and difficult so thats not really interesting.." - and here i am now biting my tongue, feeling blood in my mouth - taking street children of the street, is not important? taking children out of child labour to put them into schools - that is not important ? empowering women that have been in abusive families, that are selling their children - so they can become better off is not important ? - if that is not important and interesting, what is .. and then i remember one thing, its a newspaper, to hell with importance and objectivity what she is here for is a good story that will sell some papers, some sensation news, some gossip and that is what she is fishing for .. and she is not sharing any tricks to get these stories.. she has another go at the NGOs here - pretty much telling them that they are more or less incapable of taking care of themselves, etc.. she then strongly indicates that since our company hasnt so far gotten any business out of our work here, that it has all in all been a bad investment to send us here - and at that time i have had it (you would all have been proud of me, seeing how i was able to control my emotions..) - without being aggressive, pushy or any way what soever hostile, i ask her a fast set of simple questions: how much are you willing to pay for your company to have your leaders developed ? what is the price for doing what is right ? what is the price for community development? what is the real role of a leader? what is the price of one senior executive is you would buy that person from the street versus developing this person yourself ? and as she clearly cant answer any of my questions, i run through all of them, giving her the answers, showing that us coming here is indeed not for us to make short term business with a couple of NGOs, but for development, us, them, the communities, it is for growth both personal and professional, is development of skills, mentalities, its an investment, a commitment, an opportunity to stretch you, and so on, it seems like she doesnt disagree with me - and even compliments my emotional take on it, but - she comes with another questions, and here is what happens, Espen takes the lead on answering this question, hammers her with his answer - and there she stops, no more questions.. - and that is the end from her side, she doenst know what to say ..

(Susanna and Prija having fun at the press conference..)

she thanks us for our time, refuses a lunch invitation - and leaves... in the end i guess she got what she came for - a story that she can twist and turn into whatever she need it to be .. - she provoked a reaction from us, but i am not sure it was the reaction she expected to see from us - the reaction she saw was sincerity from all of us - based on mutual trust and respect, loyalty, a bond that has gone beyond just work now - a commitment and connection that cant be described in a sentence or two.. what she saw i guess is however not what she will show, this in the end doesnt sell any newspapers now does it ..  

Thank God that interview is over - this is the general feeling all have when we head into lunch in Taj - as bad as this interview went, as great the lunch is looking like, seriously - i dont remember the last time i was this confused over what to pick and choose first ... - lamb, vegies, soup, bread, rice ... it looks amazing .. and the taste - ohh i wish you could have tried it .. - it was delicious, and i have to admit - i do another portion, i even have ice cream, it is perfect ... - i dont recall the last time i have been this overeaten - dear Hotel Taj - my compliments to your chef well done ..

(WOW - what a wonderful lunch..) 

(more food ...) 

(..and more food.. )



so with a good feeling, a full stomach, and heart, we leave the Taj, the quietness and wander into the busy streets of Chennai ....

...the one and only Taj Club house ..

first the taxi is late, then i end up being the only one that cant fit in the first taxi, then finally my taxi comes, and guess what - the driver within seconds of taking of from our hotel gets lost, ends up on two occasions to drive direct against the traffic, and even according to Indian standards this is pretty dangerous, what makes matters worse, is that the driver is on the phone, taking away with what seems to be his colleagues on what road he is suppose to go .. and to bring a bit of flavor to the whole thing, this young guy is having his pinkie finger and thumb painted in bright red nail polish .. - very charming .. eventually after driving around in what seems to be circles we end up at our destination - the "Taj Club house" - now this is the other side of what i have seen in India till now - this is an absolutely opposite in terms of the slum area - this here ladies and gentlemen, is what a couple of hundreds of USD a night can buy you of luxury, holly molly .. - first it is totally sealed of behind high and tick walls, guards standing at the gate - big wooden and metal doors, searching any car going in to the parking, that will take you to the main entrance, a main entrance the has its guess go through a metal detector, the same as in the airports.. security guards everywhere.. - and then you enter ...

(the lobby of the Taj is a sight in itself..)

you enter something that most of all appears to be any other 5* hotel in Europe, i step inside the hotel and is instantly met by a member of the hotel staff, welcoming me to the hotel, and ask on behalf of the Hotel Raj how she may be of service, i introduce myself and what i am here for and she replies "we are very happy to welcome you and your colleagues to our hotel, your visit has been awaited with high anticipation, and we are very happy that you are here.." and with that she escorts me to the elevators - and shows me where the press conference is set to be (my colleagues are already in their media brief when i enter ... )

(..what can i say - stylish and elegant .. )

welcome to the Taj hotel, or should i say welcome to another world, this here is definitely not the India i have seen and have come to love .. - but i have to admit one thing, i am impressed with the standards .. would i like to stay in a hotel like this, no, would i like to come here again, no not really .. am i excited what today will bring - for sure .. and more important, am i excited about whats for lunch - absolutely :-))

...first real goodbye ..

today was a tough day - not in terms of work, i am use to that, actually i am use to much harder days..no today was a hard day because, today was the last day of coaching and training, tomorrow the whole day will be one big media circus - we will be in press conference from 10.00 - 15.00 and Thursday we will bring 3 - 4 of our colleagues with us to the slum area, to give them a bit of exposure to what Chennai also is .. so today really was the last day of working with this team, Friday we will eventually have the final presentation on our deliverable - and then it is "bye bye" India ..

so what made today so hard, well the emotions are coming up to the surface, the barriers are being let down, and it is coming out .. we have worked side by side with these people for weeks, we have had lunch with them, we have laughed with them, talked with them, shared hopes and dreams with them, we have connected with them, shared our passions with them, our loves and hates with them... and now it is slowly curtains down, a final bow, lights turning off - the audience is getting up to leave the theatre and we are left with nothing but our memories ... this time around - there is no extra show...

one of the guys from our group came to take the stage today before we left, thanking us for all we have done for him, helped him develop, improve, become stronger, more extrovert, more confident, more open minded, more professional, how we have inspired him, motivated him - and now he is sad because we are leaving him .. he apologies for being quiet the whole day - but he was been very sad from the morning till now, he has tears in his eyes ... - and slowly i feel them coming in my eyes as well.. another one of our girls talks to us about what we meant to her, what we will mean to her, how our leadership, passion and inspiration - is driving her to set out to achieve more things, new things that she a couple of weeks never would have dreamt of ... this is hard, maybe one of the most emotional experiences i have ever had to go through ..

(..my new-found Indian "mother" sharing her feelings and emotions with the group.. )

and as we close todays session we are made aware of that friday - there will be the goodbye party for us, where all of them will come, i fear at that time i will not be able to hold back my tears anymore.. but as one of the women shares with me before she gives me a hug (which is NOT common for a woman to hug another man !!) i have gained another son .. and with that i am for the first time in India left speechless - but she is right many of the women here has been caring for me like a mother to their son .. strange but now when i come to think about it .. i might just have gained a very big Indian family here - and that my friends doesnt make me cry, no not at all .. that makes me very happy ... and a smile appears on my face ... what a day ... what a day ... 

...another interview..

so 2hr20 min later i am back from the interview - okay i have to admit that i once again got caught up in the moment, i have to admit that the lady (very nice and friendly) interviewing us this time, really came with some good questions..

(our camera crew - really was a group of nice people.. made it all so much fun..)

imagine 9 of us (2 of our colleagues were missing - they arrived just when we were finishing up...) sitting in a "u" shape, talking, sharing, explaining, laughing, and then once its starts to hit many of us - we are almost done, time here in india is almost over ... once again a brutal reality check, one of many to come i guess, that same time next week i will be at work, sitting at my desk, i can still get use to that thought - has it really already been 4 weeks .. time does fly..

(Jana preparing for her motivational sentence - and it comes out perfectly ... )

before finishing the interview we get to say some motivational / inspirations sentences that is going along with our feelings and emotions on being on this program - here is my sentences ...


"leaders doesnt talk about changes, they make them, by either finding a way - or making a way, which way will you choose?" .... do i believe in it - absolutely .. do i want to live by it - most definitely .. 

... a scary ride ..

i seriously need to tell you about our ride back to the hotel from the office, it was such a weird experience - now for the past 3 weeks we have been going the same road to work and the same road from work back to the hotel, the trip is actually pretty straight forward, across the river by the harbour, parallel to the beach till you reach the status, right turn, straight till you come to a junction where you can go straight and over a bright, you go straight, the first left, the first left again and you are there.. - you get the picture :-))

now what our driver (not our normal one) decides to do, for no evident reason is to take a round-trip the whole way around the city, through the slum areas, down some very dodgy side-alleys and after 30 min like this it becomes very clear to both Susanna and myself that he is totally and absolutely lost .. - however still recovering from an emotional day, i am just sitting and looking at the people passing by, starting to be rather relaxing for me - till the point where Susanna asks me if i can see his eyes in the mirror, i search for the mirror only to realize a very scary thing, you can hardly see his eyes, the driver is literally falling asleep - and what is worse, he smells a bit to much of alcohol.. to be honest not the best combination ..

so i try to recall the direction - and soo we enter an area that i recall from one of my many works here in Chennai - and we are back on track.. once we reach the "city centre" the guy almost goes on automatic pilot, cruises to our hotel..when we step out - Susanna gives him one advice "get some sleep" and he looks at her - and replies back "i have been working 24 hours" ..

so lesson learned for me on today's trip always ask a rickshaw driver for 3 things, a) have you been drinking today, b) how much will it cost, and c) when was the last time you slept..  

..why my floor ..

Okay so i just came to my room - i enter the 1st floor where i am living for the time being, (i am placed in the corned..) and what is meeting me there, the whole floor is lit with bright light, white cloth, and the film crew from earlier is apparently shooting some more clips for the whole program - this is not what i was looking forward to, to be honest, i have to almost argue for the fact of wanting to get into my room .. i have to promise them that i will not turn on the TV as they are still recording, after a long and emotional day this is for sure the last thing i need .. oh and it gets better .. - at 19.00 we have another shoot with the crew, apparently they miss a bit of cultural interaction, so we are suppose to be sitting together the whole Chennai 14 team, to talk .. - great! on any other day - i wouldnt mind this - but as i said today has been a very emotional day, today was the last day of training and coaching our groups, needless to say that there was a lot of words being said, emotional being shared .. so now i have to put on my poker-face and smile for the camera - this is apparently all part of the game .. 

... What have you learned from these past couple of days?..

so we are finishing up what for many of our group members was a life changing experience, and here are my questions that i pose to them, what did you learn?, what do you feel like now? how have you changed? (personally i thought i could close this session in 10 - 15 min - but 30 min down the line words and feedback is still coming..), here are some of the answers, i feel inspired, i feel comfortable, i feel confident, i feel i want to learn more, i want to develop further, i want to try more, i understand how my job is helping others, i understand why it is important that i do what i do, i learn to appreciate my colleagues, i learned that even when i dont agree with my colleagues i can still learn from them, i have learn to give and receive feedback, i have learned how much i can impact other people, i have developed a stronger team feeling, i want to talk more with my colleagues... and the list goes on and on and on..

(Valarmathi is one of the women that has never done a presentation before - it surely can not be noticed, excitement and passion are words that describes her the best ..)
there was a lot of great sharing points, but one thing that captures my attention was this one, "when i found out that Susanna and Martin, would come to train me in English i wasnt to excited, but today i dont even recognize when it is in English or when it is in Tamil, we understand each other, without even using the same language - because of the connection we have developed"..this for me is incredible .. and to be honest - i am very very proud of what we have achieved till now ... and there is still 4 days left of our stay - i am going all out here to ensure we get maximum out of our stay here..

.. oh i almost forgot to mention that today is Valarmathis birthday so the team decided to get a cake for her, i guess birthday cakes are the same everywhere you go.. so all in all a sweet end to a very nice day ..

(i didnt count the candles on the cake - i am not that rude .. :-)) 

..a moment of truth..

time is ticking down - the countdown has begun, today is monday and on saturday morning at 6 i will be leaving to the airport flying back to Europe, i cant believe that it has been almost 4 weeks already.. it has been compact, it has been a dynamic joyride of ups and certainly also downs. so what better way to start a monday than by having 4 group presentations done.

(agenda for today .. simple - but powerful..)

..yupp all the teams finalized their presentations, and have been given a 1 hr slot to present their main objectives to the other groups, for then to receive feedback, positive and constructive feedback...

(last minute preparations - before it is showtime .. well done team..)

so first group is up, project management, the PowerPoint is in English and the presentation in itself is in a mixture of Tamil and English - called Tamilenglish, okay i know i have said it before but i will say it again, WOW - after 3 days of us training them and additional 2 days of us coaching they are delivering their own presentation - and it is great, sure there are some mistakes with the presentation, sure there are some issues with their body language, some issues with who does what and when, but all in all - 5 days and this is the outcome, i am very impressed, they are really pushing themselves forward, they are shining, they are full of confidence, they seem so comfortable on stage, so relaxed, and to my biggest surprised they seem to enjoy it... and i have to admit that once again i get tied so much in their presentations that at one point lunch is coming.. and two presentations left for us to go through..

(what do you do when electricity gets turned off - well you turn the screen on your notebook and continue - cool approach)

So after lunch we kick-start with Time management that really was dynamic as well - feedback is coming from the other team members, and you can see and here how emotional they are both when they are giving positive feedback but also when they give the constructive feedback ... one of the feedback's that really makes me feel good is this one "taking into account that many of you have never done a presentation or even typed on a computer before - you are doing a wonderful job" - this is the true essence of what we have been able to achieve in our very short stay here - to empower a very aged diversified group of men and women where majority of them has never worked with presentations, done presentation, or even ever considered doing presentations for others - here they are standing in front of each other, talking, role playing, discussing, sharing, leading, asking, facilitating, and all of it done in style, all of it done with confidence, all of it done from their hearts, all of it done with their passion, all of it made real in such a short amount of time, what an achievement - here is what i have learned today ... "impossible is nothing" - i just cant believe i had to come the whole way to India to learn that ..

..introducing my "base-camp" ..

..So till now i havent shared to much about how i live here in India - i mean regarding our hotel rooms and stuff, so i decided to shot a couple of pictures just to show you around ... so i wanted to do it with style, welcome you in to my room, walk you through the living room, into the sitting area, then kitchen, shower, toilet and finally finish off with the bedroom..maybe even show you my wide-screen television, DVD player, leather furnitures, and so on.. however - this is more how it would be in reality, i open the door to my room, enter into what is my living room, bed room and office, and from here i step direct into toilet and shower .. - not a 5* but it is enough for me :-))

(so this here is my bedroom, living room, and office ... - all i need is right there)


Okay - to be honest i dont really need a lot from my base-camp, and after all the bed is pretty comfortable, and as my boiler is finally working proper, i can enjoy my warm showers which is needed as it is a bit "cold" outside right now, believe it or not ..

(please note the huge limitation of items in my bathroom ..)  

The only thing i miss in my room is a small little water boiler - as i have to go to ask the hotel staff for hot water, whenever i want to make tea or noodles, which i find a bit of a waste of their time .. but they seem to not mind it that much in the end ..

 
(the view from my window .. - cool right, gets a bit boring in the long run..)

Okay, so i am off to ask the staff for some water - i need a cup of tea to warm me..

...a Friday thought...

here is a statement that you would not here very often from me, but thank God it is friday - i am totally dead (after sleeping very little last night - it was raining very heavily, and as the windows here are pretty much made out of paper thin glass it gets noisy..- i finally managed to get up ..), wow what a week, what a day, and what a stay... not in my wildest imagination would i have believed that i would do what i am doing right now - how fun is life, you think you have it figured out, only for it to turn everything up-side-down on you..i think it was John Lennon that said "life is what happens to you, while you are busy making other plans".. - and isnt that just so true, have you ever been in the situation that you thought you had everything ready and prepared, only for life to stick its head out and change the rules of the game, well i have, if you havent had this feeling, watch it - because it might happen any time soon :-)

so here is a thought, and i will ask you to do something that i normally dont do, and that is to reflect and give me your opinions (if you feel like sharing..) a couple of days ago, i started a conversation / discussion on a forum (as i wanted to hear opinions from people i dont know..), my question that i raised was "can people change"? i have heard a lot of interesting comments, opinions, input, ideas etc - a lot of great stuff ... i cant however say i have heard "the" answer yet, but here is why i asked the question, long ago before coming to slovakia - i lived in Quito - Ecuador, i also lived in Serbia and Bosnia, with those experiences and exposures to a culture that was soo different from my own i believe i did change, i believe i matured a lot, started thinking in a different way.. Now i have lived in slovakia for 8 - 9 years, and i started feeling like i didnt change and / or evolve anymore, and i was starting to think that i all in all didnt change from the first point, that i merely matured .. - this caused a lot of internal debate on this "change" issue, i finally ended up leaving this topic for sometime, until the "impossible" happened - i get send to India ..

Now in India - i have been forced to "change" or adjust a lot of things i normally do in Slovakia, i have learned to accept a lot of different things - all in all i have started to consider once again, if we change or just become more "flexible", more adaptable, able to adjust faster .. - and once again i am not sure i know what i believe in.. of course i want to believe i can change, to become more, to become better, to become faster .. but is it realistic or merely a silly childish though... - whats your thoughts ? if any ..

p.s. sorry for the "tricky" post on a friday .. - i know you most likely will prefer to have weekend with your love ones, and that i understand, so go and enjoy your weekend, and when you are back, i will still be here.. 

..The one and only "Ra-One" ...

so tonight something happen to me that i have never tried before - i am really going all out here in Chennai, tonight the team decided to go to the cinema, needless to say that not to many movies here in Chennai are in English and the one we decided for, was for sure not .. we decided to go for one of the all time biggest films in the history of Bollywood, now for those of you that do not know what bollywood means to Indians, well i can tell you that this was a once in a life time experience.. Just to give you a bit of background on Ra-one, the pre-production started already in 2007, and the principal photography in 2009, with an estimated budget of 150 Crore (around 42 USD millions) it was officially the 2nd most expensive film in the history here in India. Prior to international release of 26 October 2011, Ra-one had multiple premieres in places like Dubai, London and Toronto..The film released across 5,000 screens worldwide, making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. However it wasnt indias 2nd biggest investment for nothing it went on to break multiple box-office records, including highest Diwali day collections, highest single-day collections and highest three-day collections. In a five day worldwide launch the film did 173 crore (USD 35 million) - needless to say that this film was and is BIG!!

(yes ladies - this is our Indian super hero, and he sings and dances as well..)

The film although in Tamil (mixed with English) was great - an Indian science fiction superhero film, featuring singing and dancing blew me away, the special effects makes the "matrix" films look like a cartoon, seriously it was incredible, i have to admit that i did not mind the singing and the dancing, the humor and the sci-fi all mixed in one of the most action packed films i have ever seen, and to make things even better - it all got served right in your face - in 3D ... what a blast, i can officially recommend this film for anybody that would like to try something a little bit different ..  

...a keyword or two..

so i find myself lying on the ground on my belly, sharing my experience with one of my work-groups, we are having a great conversation about time management - and as i have had yoga this morning, i am ashamed to say this but feel a bit soar in my legs, so need to be careful how i sit - in the end lying is the best position for me, our teams seems to take great interest in it, in the beginning and then it seems that they are just adding that to the list of having taught me, over the last couple of weeks ..

(one of our teams - talking about time management..) 

So today the whole day is really focused on Susanna and i coaching the teams, and ensuring that they will be able to preform the trainings to their colleagues once we head home, and to be honest how it looks right now - i feel very safe that they will do a fantastic job .. today was also a day of making the teams realize just how far they have come in the last couple of days, the exercise is very simple, we ask them to tell us what new things they have learned in the last couple of days - and as i start to write, the list grows longer and longer and longer .. at one point i, myself have to step back to realize just how much we have managed to cover, i am amazed..

(a list of a couple of keywords the group has learned so far... - pretty impressive..)

you need to keep in mind that not all of our team members are from universities, colleges, business schools - actually very few of them (i would say maybe 4 or 5 of them), keep in mind that some of them although they might be mature women, just learned how to read and write in their late 30s, and started to really be independent some years back.. Keep that in mind and you would also be amazed by the work and effort they have put into the last period of time, oh and by the way - these women has help hundreds of other women to become financial sustainable, they have help thousands and thousands of street child of the streets, they have helped thousands and thousands of children out of their poor child labour conditions and gotten them back into school, they have set up numerous self-help groups in Chennai for women, men and children to help and support their local communities ... - so for that alone they deserve and get ALL of my respect and admiration!

..Summarizing 3 days of training - next stop: coaching..

so after a late lunch, and my 5 min of fame, we are back in our training room, and now susanna is building up to a final end of a three day intensive workshop .. the team did a great job, they seem a bit more tired today than yesterday, but they also seem very excited, satisfied and motivated..So this is what we have managed to do till today - in the scope of 3 days (only), we delivered presentations, training and coaching on time management, give and receive feedback, effective decision making, and project management .. - WOW great achievement... so what is the agenda for the rest of this week, well starting from tomorrow we will start to split the group into smaller work-groups and have them prepare their own presentations, that they will share with their extended teams, all in all for an additional 100 people..so we have 2 day this week and a couple of days next week to prepare the material, coach them on how to deliver the material, assess their presentation skills, coach them on their presentation skills and material, and they also have to run through the trainings for us and each other .. - all in all a lot of work still ahead of us, but today was a great milestone for our stay here in India....so friends my apologies for being a bit short today in my postings, but i am a little bit tired right now, and still need to rationalize the rest of my energy for tomorrow and Friday ... 

..in the hot seat ..

fun fun and more fun today, and how was your day ? as you might guess from the first words of this post, my day was so much fun, now i thought i have seen it all, and tried a lot, but today was pushing the limited once again .. so we arrive on-site as any other day, but this time we are met outside by ... yes, a camera crew that are here to film us, and interview us about our experience here in India, so after a bit of talking back and forth and they move their equipment to the 3rd floor, and start to set it all up.

(Imagine having the light direct in your face, it gets very hot, very fast..)

So while they are all about setting up their equipment we kick start the session, today i have the introduction, and knowing me, i cant help making a bit fun out of the fact that we are being filmed, it takes me roughly 1 min to forget all about the cameras and i am back in my zone, so full of energy, passion and humor, i focus on summarizing what we learned during the last 2 days, and what we will work on today.. (i think that the camera people are having a bit of an issue following me around the floor like a headless chicken..but they seem to manage it).. and 45 min later i hand the session over to Susanna to do her part of the training.. Susanna takes over and fires away with questions, conversations and role plays and before we know it, we are moving to another site some 10 min walk from the office to be interviewed.. am i nervous, not really - am i excited - ABSOLUTELY!!

So we meet the interviewer once again, he seems much more relaxed this time around, now that the cameras are set, and the chairs are in place, so the first one up, is Susanna, and the conversation gets started and some 10 min later she is finished..

(Susanna in the cool chair - i was direct in the sun, so i definitely got the "hot" chair..)

So next up, Martin ... So the interviewer turns to me, smiles and says "martin you will get the hard questions"... and friends he wasnt kidding .. so not only do i get the hard questions, but i also get the doubtful honor of having my interview done outside (and knowing my luck, its not raining, but high sunshine, and it is TTTOOO HOT!!) So we are sitting outside on the balcony, and i am just realizing this fact, i am sweating, i am hot, most likely red in my face from the sun, i forgot to shave, my hair is a mess (seriously need a haircut), and for whatever reasons i could fall asleep last night so i look very tired, all in all ready for my shot - my 5 min of fame, this is it ... - and i look like a mess .. typically Martin, how typical...Ok, well nothing to do now, right, so 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and we start, and as i already mentioned above he wasnt kidding, he throws some good and very challenging questions at me, "how have your leadership style changed?", "how do the community benefit from our stay here?", "what does our company get out of us staying here?", "how does this leadership program differentiate itself for any other program other companies are doing?", "how have my comfort zone changed?", "how do you prepare for a life changing experience like this?", "what's my favorite thing about India?", "how have i change?" and some 15 - 20 later, we are done, oh one last question pops up, "whats your favourite Indian food?" ... and here i ace it totally ... both the interviewer and the whole camera crew, including the producer are smiling and showing thumbs up.. - so what would you answer to this question ? what is your favourite Indian food ? .... i build my answer in the direction of liking rice, not being use to eating rice, liking spicy food.. and then it comes... "my favourite Indian food is, is the food i can eat with my right hand..." simple, funny, and silly maybe - but very true! - and this is India, here simple is enough.. here simple is great - so with that the interviewer looks at me, smiling and says - "martin you got India - you understand us.." and yeah i think i am getting India .. i hope i am getting it ..

(this almost looks like a scene from a Bollywood film..- one of our colleagues being interviewed)

so before we end this part of the day - some of our colleagues from the organization we work for, are interviewed as well, and i am proud of them, and i am proud of susanna and also a bit of myself for the work we have done in such a short period of time.. - and then we finally manage to get a very late lunch...  

..back where i belong ..

...We arrive on-site to set up logistics, and started on good time today, Susanna kicked-off todays session with a conclusion of what happened yesterday, and it was very evident that they had gotten a lot out of that session, so the bar was set for me for todays session (nothing like a bit of expectations..) So i put on my game face and of i set in a speedy pace, just fast enough to have prija translate everything (i really admire her ability to keep up with me, i mean i speak pretty fast - those of you that know you, knows that ..) we discussed feedback, went into groups, and then the noise level rose a level of two, as they were discussing and sharing feedback with each other, it really seemed like they enjoyed it.. i know we did..

(a man in his right element..)

After some further work with this topic, we had a short break for our daily caj - and then back to work, i have to admit they were consuming every little thing i threw at them, they absorbed it like a sponge with water, on and on and on .. and more exercises, conversations, discussions, and if i thought they had spend a lot of energy yesterday, it was nothing compared to the noise the brought today - incredible amount of passion and energy, it was amazing the level of energy, how the were taking energy from me, and from each other - only to give new energy back to the group, i hardly can remember when i experienced anything like this..

(great team work girls - well done ..) 

So after one last caj break (and today we brought cookies - and that is well appreciated..), we kill of the last topic, and they are still awake, they are still listening, still absorbing, i am seriously impressed, so by now it is time for us to summarize todays session, and while doing so, we look at what we have learned, and once again - i, myself have taken a couple of lessons out of todays session, it is amazing what you can get done with the right mind set, if you are open-minded, with the right focus and your heart in the right place .. - and once again i leave our team with the feeling of pride, team, once again proud to have worked with you - and cant wait for tomorrow to come by..

..Game on ...

3 ltrs of water, 2 bottle of pepsi, 1 biscuit, 2 portions of rice, 1 egg, 60 slides in PowerPoint, 6 group discussions, 2 individual exercises, loads of conversation and 8 hours later i finally arrive back to the hotel - what a day! the days i have had in Chennai till now, has been like the weather right now, sunny then rainy, the sunny and back to raining - but today was a perfect day! So today it was my turn to be standing in front of 3 guys and 24 ladies, working for this organization, todays topic was time management, effective decision making, give and receive feedback and goal setting - yes friends this in one day! and i can ensure you that we managed somehow to cover all of it.. - sitting on my bed writing out my day today, i am still a bit unsure how we managed to cover it all, but yes - we did cover it all, as i said it was a perfect day.

let me try and give you an insight into what exactly happened and you can judge for yourself if it was successful or not.. - once again susanna and i, didnt have the best beginning for our day when we left the hotel (we started at 7.00 with 60 min of yoga, the breakfast - and then off we went), as Kumar was fired last night (or resigned, not sure which one is the right one, doesnt matter) we had to catch a rickshaw to work, the guy that drove us yesterday morning met us, as i am sure he felt that we would need a ride again today, funny enough the price went up with 30 rupees today, the warm rain once again welcomed us outside..

(so this is what it looked like from the back of our rickshaw this morning..)

..as we take of, learning from yesterdays mistake i ensured that my leg(s) werent touching anything in the rickshaw - and for what it was worth i kinda remained dry, and then the drive pulls up in front of the office, only to have parked in what seems the biggest lake on a public road, so i literally have to fold my pants up.. and i am out for 30 sec, and my sandals and feet are soaked, its kinda nice, but still - come on, right from the morning .. (by far my sandals has been the best investment i have made for this trip..)

(so here is the proof of it being wet this morning ..)